I love to read. Nothing suits me better than to curl up in my cave with a good book and a hot cup of coffee. In this virtual dragon's den, I share random book thoughts, and explore books, libraries, websites, teaching, and other related treasures.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I am always on the lookout for recommended reads, and I often get requests for a list of books for a specific grade level. There are lots of lists of recommended books out there--right at our fingertips--so, with all the lists out there, how do you know which list is the best one for you to use with your child (or students)? The best thing I've found so far is to just take it on a case by case basis. I'll include a few tips first, then a list of series and titles that are popular with my students, and some links to just a few websites that may be helpful for you.

Know how to help your child pick books that are "just right" for them--there is a simple strategy for this that doesn't require test results or any thing complicated--check out the five-finger rule

If you have concerns about certain topics or issues of language, use your child's reading choices as an opportunity to discuss these issues with your child.

and finally

If you want to encourage your child to read for fun, please, give your child some freedom of choice. It's OKAY for them to choose picture books, graphic novels, non-fiction, "easy" chapter books, magazines, poems, etc. A book doesn't have to be "classic good literature" to encourage someone read (and if you want to stir up a stink, just get a group of people debating what's "good" and "classic" literature!).

Saturday, March 14, 2009

This is just too cool. If you would like to watch Neil Gaiman read each chapter of The Graveyard Book, head over to his website at http://www.neilgaiman.com/ and click the link for "Video Tour" (or just click on this link The Graveyard Book). From there, you can open each chapter of his video tour. Apparently, the author is reading a chapter at each of his book tour stops and these readings are being posted for our viewing/listening pleasure. What a wonderful way to allow our students to hear the author speaking his own words! Thank you Mr. Gaiman!